Potions Class
by RiddikulusGrin
Summary: Set during HBP. Everyone's gone to Hogsmeade for their apperation test leaving Harry and Draco alone in potions. Well, with Ernie. The fumes must be going to his head because there is no way that he... is Malfoy flirting?
1. Apperation Test

**So this was a oneshot idea I had, but now I'm not sure whether or not it should be continued. What d'you think? The scene is a rewrite of the scene in HBP when Harry and Draco are practically alone in the potions lessons because everyone's taking their apperation test. **

** DISCLAIMER: Potter is not mine. I do not own him. That would be cool, but is not the case.**

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><p>Only three of them were too young to take their apperation test. Harry, Ernie and Draco sat at their separate cauldrons in the unusually empty dungeon, listening to Slughorn. "So brew me something amusing." He finished, exiting the room. Harry glanced at Malfoy, and the idea of a love potion floated lazily to the surface of his brain. He expelled the thought quickly, and hastily started flicking through the Prince's potions book for ideas of a potion that might help him win the memory from Slughorn.<p>

"Eager, aren't you, Potter?" called Malfoy from the opposite side of the room. Harry ignored him, but Malfoy was persistent. "Got a crush on old Sluggy or something? I wouldn't be surprised." Harry's jaw was set. This was just Malfoy being his usual self - he was probably unaware of the implications of his words. He couldn't know. There was no way he knew about Harry's sexuality. Nobody knew. Hell, until recently, Harry didn't even know. "Didn't you break up with Chang because you're gay?" he continued, proving Harry wrong.

Ernie glared at him, answering before Harry could. "Shut up, Malfoy. Don't just make assumptions like that!" Ernie looked thoughtful for a moment, before adding "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay." Despite the fact Harry's biggest secret had just been revealed, he couldn't help but suppress a smirk. He had his theories about Ernie.

"Oh, I know." said Malfoy, grinning and watching for Harry's reaction. "I am gay, after all." Harry almost dropped his book into his cauldron. There was no way - it had to be Draco trying to make a fool of him. "We make quite a pair, don't we, Potter?"

"I guess." was all Harry could think to say.

Ernie's eyes widened, and Harry realised a second too late that he'd effectively outed himself by agreeing. Malfoy was smirking in a self-satisfied sort way. "You know that was a stab in the dark; I wasn't sure until you just said it." Harry cursed under his breath, and focused his attention on lighting the bottom of his cauldron. "You are gay, aren't you Potter?" Malfoy was enjoying himself far too much. "I always thought so - you don't have my impeccable self-grooming, but there's a certain level of attractiveness to you that only gay men possess."

Harry gave up ignoring him. He couldn't be sure, but it sounded as if Malfoy was flirting. Harry raised an eyebrow, on a whim. "Interested, are you, Draco?"

Malfoy's lip curled. "Very." there was silence for a moment, and Harry chucked a couple of ingredients in his cauldron, uncaring. He didn't notice Malfoy standing up to get something from the store cupboard until he brushed very close to Harry, bent down and whispered "What about you, Potter? Are you interested?"

Harry felt his heart rate accelerated and he breathed as calmly as he could manage. "Yes."

Malfoy laughed and straightened up, walking away. Harry fought to control himself - Malfoy was playing with him and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a furious reaction. When Draco passed him on the way back, he stopped again and dropped a small root of something into Harry's cauldron, winking. "Not that you'd need it to get my attention." he said.

Harry stared at the ingredients list for Elixir of Euphoria in Advanced Potion Making, and spotted a small annotation by the Prince. "Add dilligrass root for a side effect similar to love potion on the drinker." Harry blushed furiously. Malfoy grinned. Ernie looked confused.

"Very funny, Draco." said Harry. Draco grinned even wider.

"Are we on first-name terms already, Potter?" he said. "Should I call you Harry?"

"Stick to Potter." said Harry, immediately irritated. "Don't call me Harry if you don't want to."

"I want to." said Draco, so softly Harry hardly heard him. Draco was blushing furiously, and suddenly the whole situation seemed a little more intimate. Ernie certainly thought so, because he was cutting up his beetle shells as loudly as he could, awkward and embarrassed to be caught between Draco and Harry's exchange. Harry was reminded forcefully of Herbology, when he had done a similar thing for Ron and Hermione, and realised that Ernie was probably expecting him to ask Draco out, or vice-versa. It was a strange idea, but not one Harry found himself opposed to.

"Willyougooutwithme?" blurted Harry's mouth before his brain could stop it. A genuine smile appeared on Draco's features, turning quickly into a sneer.

"Will I go out with you?" he repeated.

"Yeah." said Harry beet-red.

"Ok." Draco was also blushing. Slughorn re-entered, looking puzzled at the obvious change of atmosphere in the room.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" he said jovially. "No battles break out?"

Harry and Draco glanced at each other; a small smile playing on Draco's lips.

"No sir." said Ernie, "Harry asked Malfoy out though." Harry suddenly found himself wishing muggle objects worked in Hogwarts, because he really wanted a digital camera to catch the look of complete bewilderment on Slughorn's face.

"Really?" he said finally. Slughorn was wearing a puzzled expression. He seemed worried. "Stay after class; I need a word with you, Harry." he said.

"But sir-" argued Harry, thinking longingly of meeting Draco after class.

"No buts. There's a good boy. You'll see young Mr Malfoy soon enough; I daresay he'd be willing to wait for you outside the classroom."

Grudgingly, Harry nodded, and went back to stirring his Elixir of Euphoria in silence. The potion was now useless, of course. Draco's added ingredient stopped it being something he could give Slughorn to help receive the memory, but he couldn't bring himself to care that much. The idea of dating a Malfoy seemed much more daunting just then than whatever Voldemort had to do with horcruxes.

The bell rang and Harry sidled up to Slughorn's desk. With a curt nod to Harry, Draco swept from the room, but Ernie lagged behind. Slughorn flicked his wrist in a shooing motion, and Ernie left reluctantly, unable to eavesdrop.

"I was under the impression that you were courting one Miss Lovegood, Harry." said Slughorn.

"We're just friends." said Harry automatically. Slughorn was not the first person to relay to Harry the rumour that cropped up after Harry had taken Luna to the Christmas party.

"And you're not interested in Miss Weasley, or Miss Granger?" Harry's lip twitched.

"Not my type."

"Draco Malfoy is not to be trusted, Harry. His family has been involved in-"

"I know what they've done!" said Harry furiously, surprising even himself at his defensiveness. "And hasn't everyone been telling me all year that I'm delusional to think Draco could be a Death Eater? That Voldemort wouldn't recruit a teenager?"

Slughorn winced at the name, but his eyes were narrowed. "This isn't a scheme, is it? You're not playing with the boy's heartstrings in order to find out what he's up to?" Furious at the accusation, Harry opened his mouth to retaliate, but an idea struck and he stopped himself.

"Yes." he said, improvising wildly. "It is. I don't know what he's up to and I think the best way to find out is to befriend him, and someone told me he was gay, so..."

"Harry, leave the investigation up to Dumbledore."

"But that's just it!" said Harry, spotting his opportunity and taking it. "Dumbledore's left the investigation up to me, and I can't do it! I think if I can get the truth from Malfoy then he might forget about the fact I clearly can't get the memory out of you!"

"Good heavens boy, is that what this is about?" Harry nodded. "If it's so important you'll risk ruining your good reputation, you can have it." Harry struggled to keep his face impassive, grinning like a loon on the inside.

"Really?" he said, as innocently as he could.

"Yes, really! Hand me that phial." Harry did so obediently and watched in wonder as Slughorn but his wand to his temple and extracted the glistening silver memory. "Don't judge me to harshly, will you?"

"No, Professor, of course not." said Harry, slipping the little bottle into his robes. "You're doing a good thing." before Slughorn could change his mind, Harry rushed out of the classroom and nearly crashed into Draco, whose eyes were wide.

"Please tell me that it was Slughorn you just manipulated, not me." he said. In response, Harry slipped his hand into Draco's, who understood immediately that Harry wasn't acting. "Did you mean what you said?" he asked, and Harry grinned.

"Of course. You're not evil, Draco. I don't think you're plotting something anymore." Draco pulled his hand from Harry's just as suddenly as Harry had put it there.

"You have to give that memory thing to Dumbledore." he said, then hurried off. Mildly confused and a little hurt, Harry made his way to the headmaster's office.


	2. Ron and Hermione

****Well, a weird little fault has rendered my laptop useless for over a month. So here's the next chapter, very late on. SORRY GUYS! ****

****(Also I renamed it from My Unexpected because all I could think of was My Immortal, the really bad fic.)  
><strong>**

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><p>"So, Harry, found yourself a man yet?" asked Hermione idly, turning a page in the Evening Prophet. It was the evening of Ron and Hermione's apperation test, and Harry had already told them about Slughorn's memory. He looked up from his charms essay, startled, and Ron started spluttering and coughing, apparently having choked on a fragment of the apple he'd been eating. He swallowed hurriedly.<p>

"A man? Harry's not gay." Said Ron, staring at Hermione.

"I wasn't saying he was."

"You kind of were, Hermione." said Harry, getting over his shock enough to speak.

"Well, ok, I was - but only because it's so obvious!"

"Is it?" ask Ron, squinting as though he expected Harry's sexuality to be visible if he looked hard enough.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You never notice anything, Ron. I, on the other hand, look. It's been on the cards for ages."

"How so?" asked Harry.

Hermione wasted no time - it was clear she had been dying to share her ideas for ages. "When you broke up with Cho I expected you to be devastated, but you didn't seem to be. A bit embarrassed when you were around her, but I got the impression you were glad you ended it. Of course, it could have just been because you were over her, however my intuition told me that wasn't the case. So I did a little digging. As it turns out, Harry, you're easy to read when I know what to look for. And there it was. You become unsettled when Ron tries talking about girls with you; you avert your eyes when you see a girl and a boy kiss; -"

"That's just manners!" said Harry, but Hermione shushed him. Ron was wearing a look of dawning comprehension, and Harry was horribly aware of the fact that he was very nearly completely outed.

"It could be, but it just added to the evidence. You always panic when you have to ask a girl out, and although you didn't have a clue what Cho was feeling in regards to you; you seem to understand a girl's brain pretty well. You follow Quidditch but don't have a crush on any of the players in the Hollyhead Harpies, which is unusual; you're friendly with the school's gay students; I know for a fact there's a gay pride flag in your trunk; you're very defensive when people are homophobic and you have certain stereotypically gay qualities - and yes I am talking about how long you spend in front of the mirror."

"Hermione, you can't possibly judge on that."

"And then there's the fact I saw you checking out Draco Malfoy's ass last week." she finished. Ron snorted with laughter.

"She makes a good argument, mate." said Ron, unable to keep a straight face. Harry on the other hand was having no trouble not smiling. His brain was in overdrive. Had he been that obvious? Did Hermione know - or at least suspect - that it was Draco Harry had fallen for? "Mate?" said Ron uncertainly, his smile slipping slightly, "You ok?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Yes, Hermione. I've found a man - I'm going out with Draco." There was a gasp from nearby as somebody in the common room overheard, but he ignored it. His best friend's faces were almost as priceless as Slughorn's. Ron's smile completely fell from his face, to be replaced with a look of mingled horror and surprise. Hermione just beamed.

"I knew it!" she said happily. "I so knew it!"

"Malfoy?" said Ron, looking dazed. "Really?"

Harry shrugged. "He's hot." Ron turned slightly green, and Harry laughed. "I really don't know why." he said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to. I just... started thinking of him that way." Ron let out a groan.

"Why him?"

"No idea."

"His Dad's a Death Eater."

"So?"

"He's evil."

"You don't know that." said Harry stubbornly. The memory of Draco's sudden departure floated to the top of his mind. Draco was involved in something dark, Harry was sure of it. But evil? His feelings were yet to cloud his judgment entirely, and he still was sure Draco wasn't acting from free will. No doubt Voldemort was forcing his hand in the matter.

Ron was very quiet, and Harry knew his best friend well enough to know that he was considering the new information, mulling it over and deciding whether to "approve" or not. Silently Harry thanked it was Draco, and not Ginny, he had fallen for, or Ron's incredulity would be a hundred times worse.

"I think it's wonderful!" beamed Hermione. "Harry, I couldn't be more happy for you."

Conversation fizzled out for a little while; each of them returning to their respective activities. At around nine o'clock, Ginny entered through the portrait hole with Dean. He stood aside respectfully to let her through first, and she blushed slightly. Dean kissed her cheek and headed straight for the dormitory, and Ginny pulled over a chair to sit with the trio.

"Ernie Macmillan told me the strangest thing today-" she started. Hermione cut her off immediately.

"Was it, by any chance, about Harry and Draco?"

"Yes, it was." she looked expectantly at them, and realizing there was no point keeping secret what would eventually spread as a rumour anyway, Harry decided to tell her.

"I'm going out with Draco. Ernie didn't make it up." Ginny's jaw dropped.

"This is huge!" she said.

"Not really." Harry shugged.

"Yes, it is." Ron opened his mouth to object, and Hermione waved a hand to shush him.

"Ginny's right, Harry." she said, "Even if it wasn't Draco it would be gossip-worthy; anyone the Boy Who Lived dates gets shoved into the limelight. If you factor in the two scandalous facts of you being gay and it being the son of a Death-Eater, you reach newspaper-worthy information." Ron raised his eyebrows. "Well, tabloid-ready at least."

"But Skeeter's gone." said Harry. "You won't let her write that stuff anymore."

"Rita's not the only writer, she's just the worst. There's bound to be a story about it - if not in the Prophet then in Witch Weekly."

Ginny hadn't said anything for a while. Harry glanced at her to see she was looking slightly downcast. "Are you ok?"

"Fine." she said shakily. "I'm going to bed." she hurried away, racing up the staircase to the girl's dormitory.

"What's wrong with her?" said Ron.

"Harry." said Hermione simply. Ron nodded in understanding. Harry looked between the two of them, but Hermione was wearing her I-can't-tell-you-so-don't-bother-asking face, so he kept quiet.

Harry cast around for a topic of conversation and settled on going over Slughorn's memory again.

"How did you get it in the end?" asked Hermione, Harry explained how he pretended to be only dating Draco for information, and Ron let out an appreciative whistle.

"So you didn't need to use felix?" he asked. Harry shook his head. "Because I was wondering if I could borrow it to-"

"To break up with Lavender?" asked Harry. Ron nodded sheepishly, and Hermione sighed huffily.

"I keep telling you Ron, you only need to tell her it's over."

"I can't!"

"Then make something up! Tell her... Oh, I don't know."

"You and Hermione have been snogging in secret for the past month?" suggested Harry daringly.

Hermione turned a bright shade of pink and Ron's ears went red, but there was no time to savour his matchmaking/teasing because there was a loud screech from behind him and he turned around to see Lavender herself.

"Won-won? What's going on?" there was an air of fury behind her cutesy tone, and in the moments that followed Harry found himself suddenly thankful that he'd only be having relationships with guys. Guys, as a rule, were less likely to let out a high-pitched yell of fury and beat the offending boyfriend with a hardback charms textbook.

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>"Here's to Harry's relationship being much more successful than mine and Lavender's." said Ron cheerily over breakfast that morning, holding up his glass of pumpkin juice. Harry clinked his glass obediently, ignoring Lavender's glares - he was in a very good mood. He had just received a note from Hedwig, and he had been re-reading it over and over again.<p>

"Harry,  
>Meet me by the lake at six this evening - it's time for our first date.<br>Draco x"

"How best to go public, do you think?" asked Hermione, chewing her lip. "Should we just spread it around?"

"I don't care." said Harry, taking a bite of toast. "I say just don't hide it and let people work it out for themselves." Hermione looked nervous. "Relax, Hermione. After last year, I'm used to people talking about me. At least it's about something that's making me happy, not some awful rumour of the Prophet's."

"Here, here!" said Ron. Harry was woken that morning by Ron prodding him awake and telling him in a sleepy voice he'd decided he approved of Draco. "Whatever makes you happy, mate." he'd said, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"I'm going to the Slytherin table." said Harry suddenly. Neither Ron or Hermione tried to stop him, so he slung his bag over his shoulder and crossed the Great Hall. He made out Draco's blond head easily. He was halfway along the row, leaning forwards and frowning. Harry sidled up and tapped him on the shoulder.

Whatever caused the frown on Draco's face must have vanished, because it was immediately replaced with a smile when he turned and saw Harry. "Hey." he said, the usual swagger gone from his voice. On the other side of the table, Blaise mimicked vomiting into his cereal bowl, to brutish guffaws from Crabbe and Goyle.

"Feel like a walk?" asked Harry, and Draco nodded, sliding from his bench.

"How did telling the redhead and the muggleborn go? Did they finally realize what an annoying git you are and attack?" Draco's smirking, and Harry recognized it as teasing. It made him wonder how many of Draco's remarks he had taken offense to had been meant playfully.

"They took it well." he said. "Ron took a little while to get his head around it, but Hermione went mental. She was really excited."

Draco made a small disdainful noise. "Pansy was the same."

"Girls." said Harry, shaking his head in mock puzzlement. Draco laughed - a soft sound Harry had never heard before. It was strange, he thought as they made their way through the entrance hall and out into the grounds, just how different it was. Until recently, Harry and Draco couldn't talk without raising their wands. Now they walked side-by-side, enjoying each other's company. The change was so drastic Harry couldn't quite get his head around it.

"What changed?" said Harry. "Why don't you hate me anymore?"

Draco took a long time to answer. "I don't know why, but when you hid in our compartment on the train, it mattered." he said quietly. "I jinxed you and stomped on your nose because I was upset. Not because you spied on me, but because you despised me so much you were suspicious enough to do so."

"I don't despise you, and I didn't then." said Harry. "I just know you're up to something."

"I know." said Draco. "I let myself get caught and led to the party at Christmas because I knew you'd follow Snape and I."

"It was a tip-off?" said Harry, disbelievingly.

"I guess so. I wasn't really thinking straight at the time." a haunted look had appeared in Draco's eyes, and Harry was sure he was thinking of whatever task Voldemort had set him. Impulsively, Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder.

"Let me help you." he said. "Or if not me, let Dumbledore. There's always a choice, Draco." and with that, Draco Malfoy: son of a Death Eater, Slytherin and Harry's rival; buried his head in Harry's chest and began to cry.


	3. Poison

**Hey guys! Here is the final part of my first-ever threeshot. Expect nothing more until after November, because I'm writing a novel for Nanowrimo! I don't own Harry Potter, as you guessed by now.**

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><p>Harry and Draco missed first period. Instead, Harry listened as Draco recounted every horror he'd been through since Voldemort's rise to power. He described the treatment of Narcissa and himself after Lucius' mess-up. He explained about his task - how Voldemort had demanded for Draco to kill Dumbledore. Harry listened patiently, ignoring the bell signaling first lesson when it came. He guessed Hermione and Ron would realize what had happened, and cover for him. And even if they didn't he thought grimly, hearing what Draco had to say was more important than facing a furious McGonagall.<p>

"He's going to kill me, Harry." said Draco quietly, his voice shaking with terror.

"We can protect you." said Harry. "Dumbledore can. You, and your mother too. You don't have to do this, Draco." Draco grabbed his hand; Harry was unable to ignore the way his stomach did backflips at their touch. But this wasn't a time for romance, so he did his best.

"Take me to him." said Draco. Harry stood up, his hand still firmly clasping Draco's, and pulled him through Hogwarts to Dumbledore's office.

"Toffee elcairs." said Harry, smiling at the mingled shock and confusion on Draco's face that Harry knew the password. They stepped on the rotating spiral staircase and in a matter of seconds Harry was knocking on the door, and Dumbledore was calling;

"Enter."

If Dumbledore was surprised to see Draco so close together, hands clasped, looking happy in each other's company, he didn't show it. In fact, Harry got the distinct impression Dumbledore had already worked out what Harry felt about the other boy - possibly before even Harry knew himself.

"Draco needs protection." said Harry straight away. Dumbledore stood and flicked his wand - two chairs appeared in front of the table, and he gestured for them to sit. They did so, Draco looking nervously at Dumbledore. Dumbledore placed a crystal bottle of water in front of them, along with two equally exquisite glasses.

"Mr Malfoy, does this have to do with your plan to kill me?" asked Dumbledore pleasantly. Harry had discovered so much that day that the knowledge that Dumbledore was already aware of Draco's situation was unsurprising. Draco just looked too scared to care.

"Yes." Draco mumbled.

"Excellent." he said. "This is very easily resolved." Harry looked questioningly at Dumbledore, who gave nothing away. "Do you want to kill me?"

"No." Draco's face was unreadable. His hands were balled into fists in his lap, and he was fidgeting slightly. Harry poured him a glass of water, and one for himself for good measure. Neither of them touched it.

Dumbledore nodded. "I thought as much. You did the right thing, skipping classes today, Harry."

Harry opened his mouth to respond but not before Draco suddenly hissed, "He's going to kill me."

"Oh, I don't think so." said Dumbledore airily.

"He's going to kill me. And hurt my mother." he repeated, his voice cracking. Harry grabbed one of his fisted hands, massaging it open. But Draco wasn't paying attention. "How can you be so calm?"

"Lord Voldemort doesn't scare me, Draco."

"Yeah, well he scares the shit out of me!" Draco yelled. He yanked his hand from Harry's and pulled back the sleeve of his robe. There, branded black and searing on his forearm, was the Dark Mark. Harry had been expecting it since he had followed Draco into Borkin and Burkes, but the expectation was much easer to handle than the reality. Lord Voldemort's mark, cruelly twisted into the skin of his boyfriend, tainting him, teasing him. A constant reminder that his will was not his own.

"Ah." said Dumbledore, taking in the image in front of him. "I see."

"It's a curse." said Draco shakily. "His way of forcing us to remain in his circle eternally."

"Not eternally. That mark could end up being a valuable weapon in taking down Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore said gravely. "Look at Professor Sn-"

"Snape's not on your side." spat Draco. "He's been offering me help all year."

"Snape has been acting on my orders." said Dumbledore. "Did it not occur to you that I could have requested he gave you guidance?"

"You're wrong. He made an unbreakable vow with my mother. If I don't kill you, he will."

The stunned silence that followed this statement only lasted a few moments. Harry took a sip from the glass of water he had poured himself, barely aware of what he was doing, his eyes trained on Dumbledore, attempting to guess his reaction. Then: "I too have suffered injuries at the hand of Lord Voldemort." said Dumbledore evenly. He shook back his robes so his blackened right hand was visible. "Mine gives me a limited amount of life. Severus has been kind enough to offer his services to end my time on earth before Voldemort's curse speeds and I die in an infinitely more painful manner."

Neither Harry nor Draco made any response to this information. Harry's head was spinning, and he felt faint. He knew Dumbledore was not a young man, but the idea of him dying seemed bizarre. He couldn't process the information properly, and the world was becoming haze, the voices of Dumbledore and Draco becoming muffled in his ears.

"Harry?" he heard Draco say. "What's wrong with him?" he asked. Harry didn't hear Dumbledore's reply. Fog was clouding his vision. The last thing he saw was a pale, anxious face staring at him through the fog, before it went black.

Harry awoke to a bright white room. He felt the clean sheets under him and knew instinctively he was in the hospital wing. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses, feeling much calmer when the room was put into focus, and he knew for certain where he was. Looking around, he spotted a familiar blond sitting with his head in his hands on the chair by the bed. "What happened?" Harry asked. "What made me black out?"

Draco's face was tear-stained and he looked dreadful. "It was me." he said hoarsely. "That water you drank was contaminated... because... because I put the poison in that crystal jug."

"I'm not dead." said Harry, puzzled.

"Dumbledore said it was only a trace. He got the jug as a gift from Rosmerta - she'd used it to poison the mead, and it hadn't been washed." Draco had told Harry how he was responsible for Ron almost being poisoned, too. The story had been told amongst many apologies and swears he didn't really want anyone to be hurt.

"I forgive you." said Harry immediately. "You couldn't have known that would happen." Draco smiled weakly, but Harry could tell he still felt guilty, so he changed tact. "Honestly, Draco, I thought you were better than this! You're not even capable of killing the boy who lived! What kind of rubbish Slytherin are you?"

"Oh, if I wanted to kill you, Potter, I could."

"Six years, Malfoy. You didn't even show up to our first duel."  
>Draco was smirking. Possibly the reference to their first year bought back memories of a happier time. "I still can't believe you and Weasley were foolish enough to show up to that."<p>

"I can't believe you and Goyle were chicken enough not to!" laughed Harry. Draco started to laugh too, and soon the two of them were in hysterics. It was quite out of character, and Harry was sure Draco's recent inner turmoil had something to do with his drunk happiness. Draco grinned and flicked Harry's bedhead, and Harry messed up his blond locks. The two of them burst into fresh laughter, Harry holding onto Draco for support.

"Blimey, Harry. Here we are, ready to mourn at your bedside, and you're busy feeling up Draco Malfoy." Ron's red head appeared around the door, accompanied by Hermione's bushy brown one. Harry and Draco jumped away from each other at the comment, and Ron chuckled. "Hey, what you two do in private is none of my business." He held up his hands in mock-surrender, and despite being mortified and Ron's comment, Harry laughed. Ron looked pleased.

"Are you ok, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I'm great, fit to go if only Madame Pomfrey would hurry up and appear to discharge me."

"Just in time for dinner." said Hermione cheerfully. "You won't even have to stay overnight!"

"Got to be a record short time for you." said Draco, "Don't you spend more time in the hospital wing than you do in classes?"

"At least I don't milk my illnesses for all they're worth!" shot Harry, miming holding his arm and groaning. Hermione looked shocked at their fiery exchange, but when Draco laughed, her face softened. It was just playful banter. Flirtatious, even, Harry realized.

"When you're as handsome as I am, you need to over-act when you're ill, because you don't have the gruesome look that gets you taken seriously." said Draco, preening. His comment earned him a face full of pillow from Harry.

"You wish." he said.

"You know it's true." countered Draco, winking. Harry felt a familiar heat on his cheeks and shot a glance at Ron, who looked half-amused, half-grossed out by how Harry and Draco were acting. Madame Pomfrey chose that moment to bustle in.

"Good, you're awake." she said. "Now, I just need to take your temperature, and you'll be free to go."

"He was poisoned, what good'll taking his temperature do?" pointed out Ron. Madame Pompfry ignored him, shoving the magically enhanced thermometer into Harry's mouth without so much as an "open wide".

"You're good." she said, pulling out the thermometer and peering at. "You can leave." Harry flung the sheets off him - Madame Pomfrey had not removed his school uniform, thankfully - and got up out of the bed. He wobbled slightly and Draco automatically grabbed his arm to steady him. When Harry was steady, he did not let go.

"We've still got our date tonight." Draco said softly, squeezing Harry's hand. Hermione looked away pointedly, and Ron didn't notice. Harry grinned at Draco, who raised his eyebrows. "Excited, Potter?"

Harry didn't even try to hide it. "Of course." he said. He may have been imagining it, but Harry thought he saw a faint blush on Draco's cheeks. This only broadened his grin.

They let their hands drop as they approached the great hall for dinner. Although Harry was yet to attempt to hide his relationship with Draco, most of the school was still unaware that there was anything but malice between the two of them. There were a few people who knew, or suspected, or had worked it out - but to Harry's knowledge, they were not the majority.

When they entered, close together but hands no longer entwined, Harry was expecting go go unnoticed; but as it happened, their entrance was greeted by excited murmurs. Several people - Harry suspected one of them to to be Dennis Creevy, but it was too far away to tell - even got out of their seats, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the two of them.

"Um, this might be a just a hunch," said Ron, looking around the great hall, "But I think that people might have found out about you two."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Obviously." she said.

Harry was used to being stared at, but Draco was looking a bit apprehensive. He glanced at the Slytherin table. "I bet Pansy told everyone who would listen." he murmured. "I didn't mean to tell her, she's a gossip. But I was telling Blaise, Crabbe and Golye and she overheard."

"They'd find out eventually." said Harry. "If not through gossip then through Rita Skeeter." Draco nodded, his lips pursed. Harry was stuck by a sudden inspiration, and muttered quietly so only Draco could hear, "Let's just help them see the rumours are true, eh?" He pressed his lips to Draco's cheek, enjoying the way his stomach started doing backflips and their proximity. He pulled away and saw the mild surprise in Draco's eyes.

"Well that was... different." he whispered. Harry could feel the eyes of all of the students, and some of the staff, on them.

"See you after dinner, Draco." he said loudly, just as much for their audience's ears than their own. Draco smirked.

"Counting on it." he said, winking. He paused for a split second to run his hand over the spot Harry had kissed him, and sauntered over to the Slytherin table. Harry, Hermione and Ron all sat down at the Gyffindor table. Within seconds, they were bombarded with questions. Harry answered them with ease - his feelings for Draco were clear in his head, and he had no wish to hide them.

"Do you think you might love him?" asked Ginny. Her eyes were wide and Harry though she was coping very well. Hermione had explained to him about Ginny, and her feelings towards him; and although Harry couldn't return them, he accepted they were there. He had planned to shield Ginny from how obviously he preferred Draco - at least to begin with - but she had asked the question, and he'd answer it.

"Yes." he said simply. "I very much think that."


End file.
